Camping and Caravanning with Children

We have three children who are 5yrs, 4yrs and 2yrs.
The two oldest boys, have a speech delay and our youngest has hypermobility. So we have a few extra challenges when we are away in our 1969 Caravan Daisy. 

Here are a few tips for camping/caravanning and some tips for trips away with young children!

Packing, before your trip:

There are a few different ways you can pack, it really depends what works for you. Here are a few ideas!

I always used to pack for camping into a bag, in limited light, rifling though a bag - is not fun! So last year, before we brought Daisy, our 1969 Bluebird caravan, I came up with using boxes!

I got the idea from using our car to sleep in, you can read about that here: Renovating a Vintage Caravan I needed the boxes to hold up the bed in the car and they became the perfect thing to pack into! They where from Wilko, being plastic, you can see through them. So you know where things like the socks where. With a lid on, it didn't matter about the rain. Perfect for storing food in and easy to pack into the car. I pack all our camping stuff into them and all our Christmas stuff. Then I can put away the camping things easy over the winter!

Here's my blog about using plastic boxes for home storage: Storage Tips

So you can pack per person or per day. I find it much easier to pack per day. Each morning I can grab out that days outfit for everyone (I have packed so there is a few warmer or cooler outfits ready as back up.) Before I fixed Daisy's bed I needed to use the plastic boxes to hold up the bed, so I used them to pack into as well. Now I have fixed the bed am using the wardrobe much more, so much better! I put a whole outfit on one hanger, so I can just grab them out. Some people pack an outfit into a zip up lunch bag, for the mini people. This can work really well, as you can label them and reuse them. Perfect to save lots of space when packing. Also easy to take a spare pare of clothes for days out. 

Doubling up, its taken us a while to build up a second set of things just for the caravan. Its worth it thought! The amount of times I have forgotten the peeler or can opener!! Its worth doubling up on things, its great fun finding things for the caravan. Am trying to match to the 1960's but a few new things have slipped in :) Having bedding just for camping, makes it so much easier.

Nothing is worse than mini people getting cold, so take lots of blankets. Great for if its a little cold in at night to add an extra layer, snuggling while sitting around the campfire or to use as a picnic blanket.     

We take our hot water bottles too! I take about one per person. I pop them in the beds while the children are getting ready for bed, so they are lovely and warm when they get in. Also if like us you love to sit out around the campfire, I take a blanket and a hot water bottle. (We go away a lot with lots of people and you can end up quite far away from the campfire!)

**UPDATE**

I made these simple bags which have been great in the van. 

Three each for the kids, largest is warm clothes, jeans jumpers etc, middle size is cooler clothes like t-shirts and smallest is for things like pants and socks. Or if three days, I pack what they need per bag per day. 

So simple to make with just a draw string at the top. 

They each have their name on, so quick to grab out, I can keep them tucked away in a locker or in the wardrobe. I also use the wardrobe more now too, hanging up whole outfits ready to go :)

Am going to make a few more as they are so handy for packing things away or keeping things together in the van.

Mini Backpacks:

Each of our children has their own backpack. This gives them ownership over their things (our mini people are 'collectors' and like to hoard-I have no idea where they get this from, honestly!) It means they can pick what they want to play with and get things out when they want too. 

What to put in their backpack:

- Favorite toy.

- Bug hunt things

- Note pad

- Pencils

- Place where going to colouring book (You can print off pencil drawings of places or sights your going to see on your trip away, for them to colour in. I will blog about how to do this soon.) 

- Mini lego pack, our 5 & 4 yr old, love lego! We have a box of lego to keep in Daisy but a new mini build is perfect for quiet points on a trip out for the day. 

- A few glow sticks are fun.
- A magazine. It can get quite expensive for three new magazines, so they don't get one for every trip. They are wonderful though, a toy, stickers, colouring in etc. We keep them in the Caravan so they get a lot of use out of them!

I try and think of their backpack as a Christmas stocking or party bag. This also works perfectly if you are heading off on a train or plane. I quite often look through the party bag toys at the supermarket, its a cheap way of putting some different and fun into their backpack! For my youngest a few nappies would go in there and maybe a spare pare of tights or baby-grow (she always gets tights muddy!) Also raincoats can fold up really small and fit into the backpack too - you never know what the day will be like in the UK!

Check out my top Top 10 Toys to take camping/Caravanning - from kites to glow sticks!

My top cost saving tips -

When we are heading out for the day I pack their lunch into their backpacks (removing things if needed, to make space) I keep the heavy things like water bottles in our main bag. This is a great way of keeping costs down for day trips away from the caravan/tent. If if you do end up buying some food, you don't have to buy loads, as you already have food with you. So you can spend that money on treats, not a huge lunch for 5 people. On our last trip, we brought packets of ice-lollies from a supermarket on our way back to the campsite - I know it may sound a bit penny pitching but it was lots of fun having an ice-lolly around the campfire! Each child has a sandwich, packet of crisps, fruit, a yogurt and a water bottle. I've always kicked my self when I have forgotten their water bottles, three bottles of water, really adds up. If you are away from a supermarket, you can spend so much money just on a few bottles of water. Then in the main bag we have our lunch, extra of everything and maybe a treat like some croissants. This makes a day out a lot less stressful, nothing worse than trying to find somewhere to eat, with hungry mini people, then getting court out buying something expensive but not all that nice. (Trying to stick to a vegan/plant based diet can limit you on a day out, but being prepared makes it easy.) I love packing the lunches in the morning too, its a real mummy thing to do. Its quite easy to get them ready and packed while making breakfast. Also before you head out for the day, have a good breakfast at the caravan/tent, if you have a slow cooker you can pop that on for when you get back or check out my campfire dish - Simple Bolognese Style Sauce Another tip I was given, was to take your own face paints. Camping at festivals, then paying up to 5 pounds per child to have their face painted.... It will save you money, and be lots of fun to have your own mini face painting kit! (Am working on mine at the moment, once I have it sorted I will share.)

Tips for arriving onsite: We try and do as much as possible before we get all the children out of the car, if their not sleeping we quite often give them a snack while they wait in their seats. (We are talking about minutes while we are moving the car around. They are not left on their own.)
Moving cars on site is hard work without three children running about! (I keep a few toys in easy reach or their backpacks at the ready. Then they can sit down with their magazine while we run about getting a few jobs done.)

We get the caravan into place, unhooked and steadies down. Sometimes one of us will then take them off with the kite (depending on the weather or time we arrive on site.) 

The plastic boxes really help, with food and clothes in. I can grab them out of the boot and pop them in the caravan quickly. I don't have to put away all the food etc straight away, I can just dump the boxes into the caravan to deal with after the children have settled down.


Husband and a few of the children go to collect the water, and that gives me a moment or two with just one child in the caravan to pack away the food, and connect up the gas. 

What I love about having a caravan, is we can almost just dump her on site and have to do very little to be set up. At first we weren't using the under bed storage but now I have a set of quilts which stay in the caravan - this makes washing so much easier! (Less to pack into the car and put into the caravan too.) It didn't take long for us to get really quick at arriving and packing away. I try and pack the raincoats and a big umbrella close to the top of the boot. As arriving on site and it pouring down with rain, the last thing you want to be doing is standing in the rain trying to find your rain coat.

Campfires: It doesn't get much better than sitting around the campfire, having a good old natter with everyone. First check the site you are staying at, allows campfires. Most will be fine with 'off ground' fires. We love our little Tesco BBQ, it was only about 15 and its been well used. It was a little like this one Portable BBQ. This style are perfect to cook on, then we removed the grill and add a few logs of wood. I like that they have a lid, so fire ash doesn't go everywhere if you don't get time to clean it before bring it home! (Make sure its cold before you move it) We use about 2-3 small esh logs a night, when away. Our mini people are getting really good at being safe around the fire now, they love toasting things on it like bread or Jaffa Cakes (no joke, its amazing, forget marshmallows, Jaffa Cakes are the way forward!!)

Days Out:

You don't have to plan lots of expensive day trips out. Make use of the area you are staying in, a beach, a wood?

A big walk through a wood is a full day out, bug hunting then a picnic, maybe poo sticks too! A beach, shell collecting, swimming, rock pool hunting! (I find bring buckets and spades, nets etc with you can work out cheaper.)

A kite in the caravan field or a game of cards, can keep you busy. Our boys played for hours in the big rallie field, with a pull-along and pretend spaceships.
We hunt for bugs, lay on the ground and look up to the clouds, read books and relax. You can save money by limiting the trips out, making a packed lunch and just going for a wonder. We found an amazing play park with a huge pirate ship, the kids thought it was wonderful. We do the odd trip out somewhere, but on the most part it's just the camping and walking we love. If your not sure on somewhere look up the review on trip adviser. I have an app for my phone, and can quickly check out a possible campsite or day trip. 

When traveling, have wiped, nappies, snacks all to hand. We haven't had to hand the kids an iPad very often as kept them busy with snacks and games. We lost count of how many times we played 'I spie' on our last trip. For in car snacks I made up a mini lunch bag for everyone, with crisps, sandwiches, fruit (things like oranges are great as you can hand them out. I peeled them all and put them in a lunch bag, I didn't want to be peeling oranges the whole way there.) and a drink. This worked really well, and everyone was well fed and watered while we traveled up. I try and do some knitting in the car, as its a great use of my time, when am not map guiding.


We mostly use a paper map, and just turn on the satnav for the last part. She's amazing at getting us around traffic but likes to pick the quickest route, which isn't always the best for the caravan. Also it's good to know where you are, in case you run out of 3g. 

I asked my followers and friends if they had any tips;

Don't use wax crayons in a caravan. They could melt and will never come out. Coloured pencil doesn't tend to stain seats or carpets, and just wiped off woodwork. Pens can often be left without lids on....

Campsite treasure hunts! Around the site, take a prize for the end clue and they will love it. (I think I will wait till ours are a little older for this, sounds so much fun.)

When we camp, we have a small tub of holiday toys that only get used whilst we're away. A section of road map oilcloths with a few cars, card games, little mini figures which keeps my 5 occupied in the mornings. (I made little roll up race tracks for our two boys, they are kept in Daisy and the boys love them. I will share how I made them in a future blog. Oilcloth maps are such a great idea, our mini people love playing with the map - so much so I have had to buy a second one!)

I've printed out scavenger lists and laminated them. Our two will go searching around the tents whilst we put the tent up. (That's such a great idea!) 

Camping and Caravanning, has made real proper childhood memories for our little brood. Its so much fun, flying a kite in a field is something they will remember. 

Its real freedom, we have such beautiful places in the UK, we are really lucky. For the price of one weeks holiday, you can holiday all through the summer, checking out all the amazing places which really are not far from our door step. 

My advice is, just go for it. Keep an eye out for my blogs about the places we have visited like Gower or Peak District and the best food for camping!

Thank you so much for sharing your tips! 

If I have missed off anything, please let me know!